Of Misfit Girls
by ScipioPB
Summary: Dropped off in the dead of winter to an uninterested father and a deteriorating aunt, Josephine's life is anything but easy. When the only person who cared about her dies suddenly, she's left to fend for herself against her now abusive father. But a chance encounter might just change her life for the better and show her that she's not alone in the world after all.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, it's Skippy! I haven't written in a bit, but inspiration suddenly hit me and I decided to write something. I'm a little rusty, but I hope it's alright. Enjoy!**

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"Our Lady will not be happy with this."

"Be quiet, will you? Do you want to alert the mortals to our presence?"

"I'm sorry…"

Two women, one blonde and one brunette, walked quietly down a cracked, frosty sidewalk. They both wore large coats and boots that made outlines in the thin layer of snow on the ground. With the brunette was something wrapped in a thick, red blanket that contrasted against the white snow falling. The blonde one shivered and pulled her coat closer to her, watching her solidified breath spiral upwards.

"Are we almost there?" she asked timidly. "It's very cold…"

The brunette sighed in exasperation. She didn't answer, instead rounding the corner and walking up a driveway. The smaller woman without the blanket scurried after her up to the door of a rundown house, its blue paint peeling off and a bed sheet in place of the glass in a window. The brunette knocked on the door with a gloved hand and waited for a response.

A few moments later, the door opened to reveal a large woman with something clenched in her hand. After seeing the two women at the door, she quickly placed the object in the pocket of her dirty apron, but not before the blonde saw the flash of something sharp. She edged closer to her companion.

"Um… h-hi," she stuttered.

"Hello," the woman who answered the door replied with surprising softness. The blonde noticed she was missing a few teeth. "Who are you two?"

"Eilet- ow!"

The brunette smacked her friend on the arm and glared at her icily. She turned back to the woman to reply. "I'm Erin and this is… Ellie. We're looking for Nathanial. He lives here, yes?"

The large woman nodded. "Yes, he does. I'm his sister, Rachel. Does he know you…?"

"Yes, he does."

"Would you like me to get him for you?"

"That won't be necessary." Erin shifted the blanket in her arms and held it out to Rachel.

Rachel took it, confused. "What is it?"

"It's Nathanial's. Tell him it's from me. Or don't. I don't care."

Rachel unwrapped the blanket a bit and gasped when she saw what was inside. It was a sleeping baby, no more than a week old, with thin, strawberry-blonde hair on its head. It wore no clothes, except for a diaper and the blanket that was around it. It wasn't moving, and at first, she thought it was dead, until she saw its tiny chest rise and fall.

"Is this your baby? Why did you give it to m-?"

She stopped when she looked up and saw that the two women had vanished. She stepped onto the porch and looked around for the girls or possible footsteps, but strangely found none. Not even ones leading up to the porch. It was like their traces, along with themselves, just disappeared. The baby shifted in her arms, causing her attention to go back to it.

"Goodness, it's cold. Let's get you inside…"

Rachel looked around one more time before going back into the house and shutting the door, locking it behind her. She carried the baby into the kitchen and laid it down on the counter with the blanket around it. She took the kitchen knife out of her apron and put it back where she grabbed it.

"Nathanial, come in here!" she shouted, going back over to the baby.

A man with shaggy black hair, a scruffy beard, a torn t-shirt, and a slight beer belly looked over from where he was sitting in front of a TV, drinking. "What is it?"

"Just come in here!"

Nathanial grunted and set his beer on a stool, standing up. He stumbled over towards the kitchen. "Was it a package?"

"No, it was two girls."

He appeared to be more interested. "Were they here for me?"

Rachel nodded. "Actually, they were."

"Who were they?"

"They told me they were Erin and Ellie. I didn't recognize either of them, but they said they kn-"

"Wait. Did you say Erin?"

Rachel nodded. "Mhm. Dark hair, dark eyes. Kinda tall. Said she knew ya."

Nathanial quickly rushed over to the door, unlocking it and flinging it open. "Is she still here?" he asked frantically, his eyes wide.

"No, she and her friend left. Didn't see them go."

The scruffy man darted out into the snow with bare feet and ran down the driveway, looking for her. "Erin! Erin, it's me! Where are you?" he called out.

Rachel lumbered after him and stood in the doorway. "Nathanial, get your ass back in here before you freeze to death!"

That seemed to snap him out of his stupor and he slowly turned around, returning back to the house. Rachel had her eyes narrowed. "That Erin girl. You got her pregnant, didn't you?"

"What?"

"You got her pregnant and left her, didn't you?"

"No I didn't! I saw her at Toni's, drunk as hell, and like the nice guy I am I brought her back here to sleep it off."

"And what happened when you brought her back?"

"Nothin' happened! I just talked to her and gave her something to eat. She slept it off."

" _The truth_ , Nathanial. Tell me it. _Now_."

Nathanial hesitated. "I brought her home and… Well, she asked for it!" he suddenly exclaimed. "She told me she was fine with it! She told me! She said it was the best night of her life! I swear it! And I _didn't_ get her pregnant. She left sometime after I fell asleep. No note, no nothing. Just a trashed house. And damn, she was pretty. Pissed me off when she left. And now she's telling everyone I got her pregnant?"

"She _was_ pregnant! She handed me a baby! Said it was yours. Nathanial, I _swear_ -"

"Wait. She what?"

"Gave me your baby!" Rachel roughly grabbed his wrist and dragged him inside the house, slamming the door behind them. She pointed a finger at the blanket on the counter. "Look for yourself!"

Nathanial went over to the blanket and peeled back the red wool, staring at what he uncovered. The baby looked up at him with bright, blue eyes in wonder. It made a small noise and he looked away from it. "This? She says this is mine? It doesn't even look like me! It doesn't even look like her! She probably went around and had someone else's baby! That tramp…"

"Well, there's nothing we can do now. She's gone, and now we got this baby. You're taking care of it."

"Am not! I'm not taking care of a damn baby! It's not even mine!"

"I can't take care of it!"

"Then throw it out! The dogs'll eat it. I don't need this in my house, reminding me of the tramp who dropped it off."

Rachel barred her teeth and lumbered over to the baby, shoving her brother off. "I am _not_ letting you throw it out."

"Then do whatever, I don't give a shit! Just as long as I don't see it again." He spat in the direction of the baby and went back over to his seat in front of the TV, grabbing his beer and taking a swig of it.

The large woman sighed and pushed back some of her black hair. She looked down at the baby and noticed that she seemed healthy and well-fed, even with only appearing to be a week old. She pulled the diaper up a little. "She's a girl," she announced. "What should we call her?"

"To hell if I care!"

Rachel couldn't help but growl at that. She looked down at the baby again, trying to think of a name, when one suddenly pushed its way into her mind. "… Josephine. We'll call her Josephine." As she said that, the baby made another small noise and Rachel smiled. She picked up the blanket with the baby in it and cradled her to her chest. "Don't worry, Josephine. I may not be able to do much, but I'll do everything in my power to protect you. I promise."

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Up in the clouds, two women clothed in pure white, Greek tunics sat at the edge of a small pool, watching the image it showed. The smaller of the two looked over at the other. "Josephine? Why did you choose that?"

"I've always liked the name," the other one replied. She looked over. "Have you heard of many others named the same?"

The woman nodded. "Not many, though. Most name their children after ancient heroes, in the hope that they become heroes as well, I imagine."

The other one nodded and looked down at the water again. "I do not wish for my daughter to be a hero. I wish for her to be a normal mortal, but I already know this will not happen…"

She looked on for a few more moments before sighing softly and standing up. She walked away without another word. Her companion watched her leave before looking down at the water. She sighed as well and bowed her head. "My Lady, please forgive me," she murmured, standing up and leaving pool. The image shimmered before disappearing altogether, leaving the crystal waters clear again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for all of the views, reviews, follows, and favorites!**

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For the first year of her life, Josephine lived a fairly normal life. Whatever Rachel could scrape together from her paycheck, after buying food for herself, was put towards Josephine to feed her and get clothes for her to wear. She even saved up a bit of her money to buy some yarn and knitting needles to make a doll for the little girl. Though, she found that her skills were a little rusty, and that she moved much slower than she used to. Eventually, Rachel felt bad enough to steal a little of Nathanial's money to go out and buy a doll for little Josephine, who had grown greatly since the cold, winter night she was delivered on.

The next year was the year of the big snow storm. Over two foot of snow fell in one night, boxing everyone in the neighborhood in. Neither Rachel nor Nathanial could go to work, and because of the broken heating unit, they were forced to wait it out by the gas stove to keep warm. During that time, Josephine became sick and forced Rachel to take the baby to the hospital, where she was treated for hypothermia. Because of the hospital bills, Nathanial and Rachel were forced to sell his house and move to a cheaper one in an even worse neighborhood. That was the year she signed Josephine up for preschool, so she could be safe while her aunt was working.

Josephine scampered ahead of Rachel towards the door of the preschool, her already long red hair flying behind her. "Auntie, Auntie! Hur-ry!" she squealed, looking back.

Rachel smiled and walked slowly after her. "I'm coming, Josephine. Your auntie's back is hurting."

The little two-year old didn't hear what she said and stopped at the colorfully painted doors, bouncing on her feet. She grunted with the effort, trying to push open the door with her shoulder, but couldn't until Rachel walked up beside her and helped her push. The door opened and Josephine grinned, running inside.

Immediately once she went in, Josephine's eyes widened in wonder. The walls were covered in a multitude of papers, colored in crayon or glued together with other paper. There were pictures with glitter and string and sequins and even noodles, of make believe animals and houses and families. Other kids sat at tables making more pictures or playing with all sorts of toys, more than the little girl had ever seen before. She smiled widely and attempted to run over to them, but was stopped when Rachel grabbed the back of her shirt. Josephine tried to pull out of her grasp, but huffed when she couldn't.

Rachel talked to the lady who came up to them, and after a bit, Rachel crouched down in front of Josephine and held the little girl by her shoulders. "I'm going to leave for a bit, ok? I'll be back to pick you up later. Be good, and be respectful to the other kids."

Josephine nodded. "Yes, Auntie."

Rachel smiled. "Alright. Have fun." She went to slowly stand up before Josephine rushed forward and hugged her. The woman smiled warmly and hugged her back. Josephine soon pulled out of the hug and grinned at her aunt. "Bye bye, Auntie!"

"Bye, Josephine. I'll see you soon." The toddler ran off and Rachel slowly stood back up, thanking the lady and leaving.

Josephine first ran over to the collection of toys on the other side of the play area. She saw a group of girls playing with little dolls and went over to them. "Hi! I'm Josephine!" she told them.

The two little girls looked up and the younger one of them smiled. The older one frowned slightly. "Hi. I'm Riley. This is my little sister, Tiffany." She pointed to her younger sister.

Tiffany grinned. "Hi! Wanna play?"

Josephine nodded and plopped down on the ground. Tiffany grabbed one of the dolls they had and tried to hand it to Josephine before her sister snatched it away.

"That one's mine," Riley snapped, setting it beside her pile of other ones.

"What one hers?" Tiffany asked.

Riley looked over Josephine, taking in her faded striped shirt with a small stain on the sleeve and her short jeans with rips in the knees. She looked over her collection before picking one out, its hair halfway cut. "She gets this one."

Josephine smiled and accepted the doll. "Thank you!"

"Tell her what we do!" Tiffany said excitedly, bouncing a little.

Riley rolled her eyes. "They're having a tea party. My doll, Molly, started it."

"Mine named Wendy!" her sister squeaked, holding up her blonde Barbie doll.

"I name mine?" Josephine asked.

"Mhm!"

The redhead looked over the doll in her hand. It was a lot prettier than the one she had at home, so she wanted to think of a very pretty name for it. She scrunched her nose in thought. "Her name… Flower."

"Flower? That's not a name," Riley told her matter-of-factly. "A name is like Sarah or Jenny."

"But she pretty. Flower is pretty," Josephine replied innocently.

"It's not a name. Her name will be… Lily. See? That's a kind of flower. It's almost the same."

"Ok."

"So have Lily come over to Molly and Wendy."

Josephine nodded and moved her doll over to the other ones. She saw the other two dolls sitting and made hers do the same.

"Now you take the cup and make them drink," Riley explained, showing her.

Josephine picked up one of the tiny cups and looked in it. "There nothing in mine."

"It's for pretend," Tiffany told her.

The two-year old didn't quite understand. "I go get som-phing." She set her cup down and quickly got up, running over to the table where the other kids were crafting. She saw someone with a little cup of water for painting and took it off the table, not hearing the kid she stole it from shout at her. She hurried back over to them, some of the water splashing out, but didn't realize her shoelace had come untied. Just before she made it to her two new friends she tripped on the shoelace and fell forward with a squeak. The cup fell out of her hands, and as she landed on her stomach on the carpet, the water splashed out to hit the two girls and the dolls.

Riley squeezed her eyes shut as she was splashed, her mouth open and catching some of the water. She opened them and spat out the water, looking down at her now ruined dress. She let out a high pitched scream, causing all of the other kids to look over and for Josephine to wince. Riley looked over at Josephine and glared at her furiously. "You ruined it!" she shouted angrily.

Josephine sat up a little and cowered away from the girl. "I didn't mean to…"

"You got water everywhere! Tiffany said to just pretend! And now you ruined Molly!" She held up her wet doll before throwing it to the ground childishly. She got up to her feet and ran over to the lady at the front, crying the whole way there.

Josephine looked over at Tiffany who hadn't reacted much. It surprised the redhead, since her dress was ruined, too. "You mad, too?"

Tiffany looked down at her dress and then at the wet carpet and dolls. She shook her head. "Not mad. Just wet."

Josephine smiled a little at that before she felt herself be pulled up by her arm. Once on her feet, she turned and saw that the lady from earlier had grabbed her. "Come on, you two. Let's settle this, ok?" She spoke softly, which made the toddler feel a little better. The lady took her hand and led her over to where Riley was sitting on a chair and trying to wipe away the water on her dress. She stopped beside her.

"So, can anyone tell me what happened?" the woman asked.

"She spilled water on me!" Riley exclaimed loudly.

"On purpose?"

"Yes!"

"Josephine?"

The little girl looked over at the lady and shook her head. "I went for tea."

"We were pretending to have a tea party and she brought water and spilled it everywhere!"

The lady looked at Josephine. "Did you mean to spill it?"

She shook her head. "I falled."

"Riley, I think this was all a misunderstanding. She didn't mean to spill water on you; it was an accident."

Riley huffed and crossed her arms, looking away with her chin raised. The lady looked at Josephine again. "Could you apologize to Riley for accidentally spilling the water?"

Josephine nodded, scuffing her heel on the carpet a little. "Sorry, Riley."

Riley made a _hmph!_ Noise, but otherwise didn't respond. The lady sighed softly. "Alright. Why don't we all have a snack?" she asked, raising her voice so the other kids could hear. They all cheered and ran over to a set of clean tables, talking to each other excitedly.

Josephine saw Tiffany get up from the ground, holding her doll, and started to walk over to her. She felt Riley shove past her, making her stumble, and walk over to her sister. She grabbed the younger girl's arm and pulled her away to one of the tables. Josephine went after them and attempted to sit down next to Tiffany when Riley glared at her, silently telling her she couldn't sit there. Feeling a little sad, she moved over to another table with no one at it and sat down, resting her head on her arms.

The lady walked around with little Dixie cups full of animal crackers, giving one to each kid. She gave Josephine a sympathetic look as she set her cup down in front of her before walking away to give the other kids theirs. The little girl looked down at her cup and sighed softly, picking one up and munching on it.

She heard someone come over to her and looked up to see Tiffany at her table. She had an animal cracker in her hand.

"I'm sorry," she said, handing Josephine the elephant shaped cracker.

Josephine smiled and took the cracker. "Thank you." Tiffany smiled back and was about to say something when she was called back by her sister. She waved to Josephine before retreating back to her table with Riley.

Josephine looked at the little elephant animal cracker before looking over at where Tiffany was sitting, smiling. Even though Riley didn't like her very much, she was happy that she found a friend in Tiffany. Eating the cracker, she thought of what she was going to tell her aunt later when she picked her up, and thought of how the future would be with her new friend.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you again for all of the reviews, follows, and favorites! Enjoy!**

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Josephine's first year of preschool went very well, for both Josephine and for Rachel. For Rachel it was a way to know that Josephine would be safe from her father and safe from having to be left at the house alone while she worked. For Josephine it was a way to learn things she had never even thought about, like how to write her name. The other kids didn't think it was as cool or interesting as her, though; they much preferred to craft and play games all day than learn. The toddler soon grew to love school and all of the things she learned that she could go home and show Rachel after she picked her up. She also learned what it was like to have a friend. Riley would try and keep Tiffany away from Josephine as often as she could, but because she was older, Riley would get taken back to a room with the other older kids to learn more things like shapes, numbers, and how to read.

When Josephine had heard about Riley learning how to read, she begged the older girl to teach her, but she always refused or ignored her. She begged her Aunt Rachel to teach her, but she claimed that she didn't know how to read very well herself and wouldn't be able to teach her. Josephine even asked if Tiffany could teach her, but she told her she didn't know how to either. It seemed no one knew how, nor wanted to teach her how to read.

One day she asked the lady who ran the preschool if she could teach her how to read, but the lady just laughed and told her it was only for older kids. Of course, Josephine protested and said she was old enough. She was almost three, for goodness sake's! That's old enough to read! But she still told her no, that she was still too small to read. Josephine reluctantly left it at that and didn't ask her about it until a year later.

Since Riley was five the next year, she left the preschool to go to kindergarten at a different school, which left Tiffany to be able to play with Josephine whenever she wanted to. Josephine couldn't have been happier. They started playing every day at the preschool, and even over at Riley and Tiffany's house. Tiffany asked a few times if she could go over to Josephine's house, but every time Josephine asked Rachel if she could, she always made an excuse as to why she couldn't. Josephine didn't mind, though; Tiffany's house was really nice, and it had a lot more rooms to play and hide in than her own.

Now that she was three years old, she thought she was finally old enough to start reading. The lady, who she found out was named Ms. Kennedy, still told her she was too young to read, but both her and Tiffany thought the redhead was old enough to read. So, they made a plan to take a book from the back room where they were kept so she could try and read it.

It was the day Josephine and Tiffany had planned to steal the book, and the three-year old was anxiously shifting in the car seat in Rachel's car. "Are we there?" she asked for the tenth time since they started driving.

"No, Josephine," Rachel replied tiredly, rubbing her chest a bit. It had started hurting when she woke up.

Josephine kept shifting in her car seat, making Rachel sigh loudly. "Josephine, could you please sit still?"

"Can't help! I am excited!"

"Why is that?"

Josephine quickly covered her mouth with her hands, realizing she had said too much. "Nophing!"

Rachel briefly looked over her shoulder at Josephine, smiling. "Are you sure?"

"Mhm!"

"Well, ok. If you change your mind, I'll be here." She looked back out at the road.

Josephine turned and put her hands on the car window, looking out. She watched the other cars, buildings, and streets go by, following the path Rachel took every day to drop Josephine off at the preschool. They soon made it and the little girl tried to unbuckle herself, grunting in frustration when she couldn't. Her aunt came around and unbuckled her, and she darted out of the car, her fiery hair flying out behind her. She barely looked back to yell a 'Bye, Auntie!' to Rachel before she was in the building and running over to where she and Tiffany would meet.

Josephine didn't see her friend there yet, which happened a few times, so she waited impatiently for her to show up. After a grueling five minutes, Tiffany walked into the preschool with her mom behind her. Josephine bolted up to her feet and scampered over to her friend, grabbing her hand and pulling her over to their spot. Tiffany giggled and followed her, sitting down when her friend did.

"Ok. You remember plan?" Josephine asked her, exaggerating her whispering.

Tiffany nodded. "Mhm! When we do it?"

"Nap time."

"Ok. What we do now?"

Josephine thought about that. "We play dolls."

So, for the next couple of hours, the two little girls played dolls. They stopped halfway through to paint with the rest of the class (they had to paint their favorite animal; Josephine painted a dog), ate a small snack, and then went back to playing.

One short hour later, it was nap time, and time for the plan to go into place.

Ms. Kennedy put out the mats and blankets for them to nap on, and as planned, both Josephine and Tiffany asked for extra blankets, claiming they were cold. The lady gave them an extra blanket, and the two girls laid down with them and pretended to sleep. Ms. Kennedy checked on all of them before sitting in the chair behind her desk and starting to read. Josephine waited a couple minutes until she knew Ms. Kennedy would be too focused on her book to pay attention to move. She took the extra blanket off of her and put it under the other blanket, rolling out of it. She tried making it look like there was a person sleeping under it and looked over to Tiffany who was doing the same thing. They nodded to each other and slowly crawled away from their mats and the other sleeping kids.

Once they made it to the snack area, they both stood up, grinning widely. "We did it!" Tiffany exclaimed excitedly.

"Shh! She hear us!" Josephine told her, whispering. She pointed to towards the back room where Ms. Kennedy taught the older kids, and they ran back there.

Josephine slowly opened the door and poked her head in, making sure the coast was clear before going in. Tiffany followed behind her, bouncing on the balls of her feet and still grinning widely.

"Where are books?" Josephine asked her friend.

"Riley said in box."

"In box? What box?"

Tiffany shrugged, making Josephine sigh. "We look at all boxes then." The two girls split up and checked half of the room each for the boxes of books. Knowing they had to hurry before Ms. Kennedy noticed, they quickly searched the room.

After a few minutes, Josephine found a blue box in one of the craft closets and pulled it out, grinning when she saw what was in it. "Found them!"

"You did?"

"Mhm! Come see!"

Tiffany ran over and sat down next to Josephine, smiling when she saw the books. "What one you gonna take?"

"I don't know…" Josephine pulled a couple of the smaller books out and looked at the pictures.

Tiffany pointed to one with two bunnies on it. "This one?"

Josephine shook her head. "No."

She pointed to another one with a kid with red head on it. "This one?"

The little girl shook her head again. "No." Josephine continued looking through the books until she found one with a big, red dog on the front. She grinned. "This one."

Tiffany looked over her shoulder and smiled. "I like doggie."

"Me too. Let's go back."

The two toddlers put the box back and hurried back to the nap area. Josephine grabbed her coat from her cubby and hid the book under it so Ms. Kennedy wouldn't find it. She snuck back over to her mat, took the extra blanket out, and laid back down. Two short minutes later, a small _ding!_ went off, signifying that nap time was over. Josephine grinned excitedly. Only one more hour until she could go home and read!

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Josephine waved goodbye to her friend Tiffany when she left, sitting by her cubby with her jacket on and holding the book to her chest under it. Her feet hung off the ground from where she was sitting, occasionally tapping against the wood of the cubby. She was waiting for Rachel, as she did every day, but she was more excited this time. She didn't notice that a half hour had passed by until Ms. Kennedy walked up to her.

"Josephine? Where's your aunt?"

The little girl looked up at her, her blue eyes shining with excitement. "She coming!"

"She's late, though."

"She is?"

"Mhm. Would you like me to call your dad?"

Josephine scrunched her nose and shook her head. "No."

"Well, ok… I'll be calling him soon, though." After saying that, she walked back over to her desk.

The more Josephine thought about what she said, the more she wondered where her aunt was. She looked at the bright yellow clock on the wall, and even though she couldn't tell time, she could tell it was later than she usually picked her up at. She was confused, since she didn't tell the little girl that she'd be late. Where was she?


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! Sorry for not posting last week. I've been busy with school work. Lame excuse, I know xP. But anyways, here's the next chapter! A little bit of warning: I don't really know how to put this without spoiling it, but... If you're sensitive to abuse, be warned.**

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After about an hour, Ms. Kennedy called Nathanial, Josephine's father, to come pick her up. Josephine couldn't understand much of what Ms. Kennedy and her father were saying on the phone, but by the look on the lady's face, it was something sad. It confused the little girl. Why would Ms. Kennedy be sad to talk on the phone with her dad?

Her teacher talked on the phone for a couple more minutes before she stopped. She looked over at Josephine. "Josephine, honey… I'm going to take you home, ok?"

Josephine smiled and nodded. "Ok!"

Ms. Kennedy grabbed her keys off the desk and started walking towards the door, and Josephine jumped up from her seat in her cubby. She sprinted over to the door, holding her secret book to her chest, and tried pushing open the door. Ms. Kennedy had to help her, but she eventually got it and ran outside. She ran towards where her aunt Rachel usually parked her car, but there was no car there. She heard her name called and looked back, seeing Ms. Kennedy walking over to a different, shinier car. Josephine ran over to her and opened the back door to her car, climbing in.

Josephine felt the seats; they were some kind of weird, black texture thing. She didn't see a car seat for her either, which confused her. "Ms. Kennedy?"

Her teacher started her car before looking back. "Yes, Josephine?"

"No car seat."

"Oh. Yes, I don't have a car seat for you, but you'll be alright." She pulled out of the driveway and started driving down the road.

The redheaded toddler nodded and kept still in her seat. It was a little weird not sitting in her car seat. It was the first time it had ever happened. She didn't have anything across her either, but she liked that part. She could move around more. So Josephine sat on her knees and peered out the window, watching the buildings and cars go by. The sky was really grey, but it wasn't raining. Josephine thought that was a little strange. As Ms. Kennedy drove along, the building's started to deteriorate. They became smaller and less shiny. Josephine smiled when she saw all of the little houses; they were close to home, where she'd get to see her aunt Rachel and show her her new book.

When Ms. Kennedy pulled into the driveway of her house, Josephine opened the door and scampered out, holding onto the book under her jacket. She hadn't realized it had finally started raining until she went outside, and she reached back and pulled her hood over her thick, curly hair. She heard Ms. Kennedy get out of her car with her umbrella when Josephine's father came out of the house. He walked over to her teacher and they started talking, but Josephine ran inside.

"Auntie!" she called out, looking around and smiling. She pulled the book out of her shirt and wandered around in the small house, looking for her aunt. She went into her father's room, but didn't see her in there. She walked back to the bathroom and didn't see her in their either. She walked back to the room her and her aunt shared, but she wasn't in there either. She saw something by her pillow in the bed and went over to it. It was a purple bunny stuffed animal with the yarn she knew her aunt Rachel had. The little girl smiled widely and climbed onto the bed, grabbing the bunny.

Josephine heard the door open and close, but then didn't hear anything after that. She thought maybe her father was going to look for her aunt. She opened her book and set it on her lap next to her bunny. She looked at the little words on the page and tried to figure out what they said, but she couldn't. She only recognized a couple of letters, but not enough to figure out what it said. She sighed softly, looking at the pictures instead.

A thought popped into her mind and she turned the pages to the beginning of the book. She looked at the pages with the big red dog and started to tell her own story about it to her new bunny, basing it off of what she saw in the pictures. After telling her first story, she told another one, and another one, and another one, each time different than the last.

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Later that night, while Josephine was eating her homemade cheese sandwich, she heard the front door fly open. She was still in her shared room with her bunny and new book, so she couldn't see who it was. She heard the door slam shut, and something shattered along with a long string of profanities. Realizing it was her father, she grabbed her plate with the crust left and her book and went out to see him.

Once she left the room, she scrunched her nose at the smell; it smelt like the liquid in the weird brown, glass bottles she would see her aunt pick up around the house and throw away. She said it was some kind of drink, but Josephine was never allowed to try it. It smelt like something else, too, but she didn't know what. It didn't smell very good, though.

Josephine walked into the kitchen and set her plate on the counter. She peered over it and saw her father with one of the brown glass bottles in his hand. She went around the counter and cautiously walked up to him.

"Um… I got new book today."

Her father's head whipped around and he glared menacingly down at the little girl. His eyes were bloodshot, his teeth bared, and his breath smelt strongly like the liquid in the bottle. "What the fuck did you just say?"

Josephine was frozen to the spot, her eyes wide. "I… I-I got new bo-" She squeaked and ducked her head when he suddenly threw the bottle. It hit a wall behind her and shattered upon impact. Nathanial reached for her, but the toddler turned and tried running away.

"Come back here, you little shit!" he growled. He grabbed her plate off the counter and threw it at her. It shattered on the ground and pieces flew up to catch in her legs. She stumbled and fell, but before she could get up, she felt herself being pulled up by her hair. She screamed in pain and tried escaping, but her attempts were met with a harsh slap to the cheek. She froze before she started to cry, which caused her to be hit again.

" _You_ ," he spat, tugging roughly on her hair and making her scream again. "You're the reason she's gone. You just _had_ to whine your little ass about going to that stupid fucking school of yours, even though she was sick. It's all _your_ fault, you little bitch." He hit her twice more before letting go of her hair, making her fall to the ground. She sobbed loudly on the floor and Nathanial kicked her in the side before stomping off.

Josephine screamed and cried in anguish and pain after her father left her on the floor. She feebly reached for her book and clutched it to her aching chest, trying to calm herself down. She eventually was able to get up from the ground and limp into her room, closing the door behind her and pulling herself onto the bed. She buried her face in her pillow and continued to cry, ignoring the feeling of something trickling down her leg and cheek. She grabbed her new bunny and looked down at it before clutching it to her chest. She hurt. So, so bad. Why did he do this to her? She heard him shouting more outside of her door before slamming the front door again. All was silent once more, safe for the pain filled sobbing from the little girl who couldn't think of anything she did to deserve such torment.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hola! As always, thank you for all of your guys' support with reviews/follows/favorites! You guys are awesome!**

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The next day was a tough one for Josephine, to say the least. After literally crying herself to sleep, she woke up the next morning, hurting everywhere on her body. Her mouth and throat felt dry from screaming and crying, and her eyes were crusted with dried tears. Out of everywhere that hurt, her lungs and ribs hurt the most. It hurt to breathe, and every time she did, it left her shuddering in pain. Her reddened, puffy eyes looked down at the little purple, crochet bunny in her arms and immediately thought of her aunt Rachel who made it. Where was she? Her father had mentioned last night, while he was hurting the little girl, that she was gone. Gone where? Did she go in a trip? Maybe she went to go and get something for Josephine. If she was, she hoped she would come home soon. Her aunt always made her feel better when she was hurting.

Josephine realized then that she had to go to preschool that day, and since her aunt wasn't back yet, she had to find her own way to get there. She thought that she could maybe ask her father to take her, but just the thought of potentially seeing him again made her lungs and ribs hurt again. She decided that maybe she'd walk instead.

The toddler slowly sat up, trying to resist crying again at the pain that flared there. She scooted off the bed and set her feet on the ground, holding onto the edge of the bed as she stood up so she wouldn't fall. Her stomach made a growling noise which made her realize she hadn't had dinner last night. Her aunt usually made her cereal in the morning, but she thought that she could make it on her own while she was away. It couldn't be that much harder than making a cheese sandwich.

Josephine left her bunny on the bed, so she could get her later, and limped into the kitchen. There were still pieces of glass on the ground, so the three year old had to step around them on her tiptoes. Her father was nowhere to be seen, so she figured he hadn't come home last night. Maybe he wouldn't come home at all. Josephine liked to think that.

The redheaded girl found the box of cereal, but it was on top of the refrigerator, but no matter how hard she tried to reach for it on her tiptoes, or wish that she could jump that high, she couldn't reach it. She sighed softly and decided to have a cheese sandwich instead. She opened the refrigerator door, but there was no cheese left. She decided a piece of bread would be fine.

While getting dressed, Josephine finally noticed that something was sticking out of her leg still. She sat down and looked at it curiously. It was the same glass from the weird, brown bottles her aunt would throw out. When she touched it, pain seared through her leg and she almost started crying again. She sniffed and decided to just put a bandaid over it so it would stop hurting. And maybe some of that gross cream stuff, too. Her aunt Rachel always said that would help it stop hurting, too.

She limped into the bathroom and sat down in front of the cabinet. Opening it, she smiled when she saw the Barbie bandaids she had begged her aunt to get while they were at the store a while ago. She got them for Josephine, but told her to only use them for emergencies. Looking at all of her bruises and cuts, she decided it was an emergency. She took out eight band aids and the gross cream out, putting it on the biggest cuts and bruises. It stung a little bit on the cuts, especially the one that had the brown glass in it, but they felt better once she put the pink bandaids on them. She threw away all of the little wrappers and walked out of the bathroom, feeling proud of herself that she could put the band aids on and feel better on her own.

Josephine grabbed her coat and put it on when she thought of something. She hurried back to the room she and her aunt had shared and grabbed her bunny. The bunny looked a little sad, so she grabbed another band aid from the bathroom and put it on it, hoping it would make it happier. She decided to bring it to school with her so she could show Tiffany and Ms. Kennedy her new animal her aunt had made, and so she wouldn't miss her aunt as much.

It was cold outside, and it still continued to rain from last night. Since she didn't have an umbrella, Josephine zipped up her jacket, her bunny inside, and put her hood over her head. She wore a pair of green rain boots that looked like frogs and kept her feet warm and dry. And after shutting the door to her house, she started on her adventure to her school.

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For some reason, when Josephine got to school, Ms. Kennedy was very mad. She apparently didn't like that Josephine was sopping wet when she walked in, nor did she like the fact that she _walked_ in instead of being driven. She made the little redhead take off her frog rain boots and jacket, but let her keep her new bunny. When she asked Josephine why she was covered in bandaids, she told her teacher she fell. She didn't want Ms. Kennedy to be mad at her like her father had been.

After playing with Tiffany and showing all of the other kids her bunny throughout the day, Ms. Kennedy told Josephine that she'd be taking her home again. The little girl asked why her aunt wasn't picking her up, but Ms. Kennedy didn't respond. She must've been still gone. But Josephine was happy to get to ride in her teacher's car again; she liked the cool seats in there and the fact that she didn't have to use a car seat. Plus, she got to wear her rain boots again, which Tiffany said she liked, too.

Ms. Kennedy dropped her off after a few minutes and told Josephine to get her father to drop her off tomorrow. Josephine told her she couldn't ask him, and when she was asked why, she said it was because her aunt would come back and take her like she always did. That didn't seem to make Ms. Kennedy very happy, but she didn't know why. She told Josephine that she'd see her the next day and left.

Later that night Josephine had more bread for dinner, plus a little bit if a brownie she found. She hoped her aunt wouldn't mind. She tried to read her book again when she heard the front door open and slam shut again. She heard her father shout her name angrily and start stomping back to her room. She immediately grew worried and grabbed her bunny and book. She hopped off the bed and shimmied under it, her eyes wide and fearful as she held both to her chest.

Her door was slammed open and she heard the labored breathing of her father. The air smelled like the strange liquid again. "Josephine! Get your ass out here!" he growled, prowling around the room. She listened fearfully as he opened up her and her aunt's shared closest, rummaging around in it. He searched the rest of the room before seemingly giving up and slamming the door shut behind him.

At the sound of him leaving, Josephine dared to breathe again. Just the thought of what could've happened if he had found her made her bruises and cuts hurt. Would he have thrown something at her again? Kicked her again? Pulled her hair? Or just yelled at her? She didn't want to know.

Worried that he'd come back to look for her again, she hurriedly grabbed her pillow off the bed and went back under it. She curled up on the dusty, dirty floor with her rabbit and book, praying for the time when her aunt would finally come back to her.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! Sorry for the delay. I made this chapter a little longer to (hopefully) make up for it. A warning on this one, though; it has some adult themes.**

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For the next four years, the torment never stopped. Every night, Nathanial would come home, stinking of the liquid in the brown glass bottles, and look for Josephine. Josephine, however, became very good at hiding. For the first several months, the little girl hid under her bed when her father would come home drunk and violent. But one night, while he was searching her room for her, he happened to look under the bed and saw Josephine. Ms. Kennedy helped her with her cuts and bruises the next day, and this time, she didn't ask her where she got them from. Josephine quickly learned new places to hide in, but after she was found and beaten again, she just stayed out of the house until he tried to find her, failed, and then left to go do whatever he did after work.

When Josephine was six, Nathanial lost his job.

Since the redhead was in kindergarten, she didn't come home early anymore, but when she did come home, Nathanial would be there waiting. Sometimes, there'd be various people in the house with him, reeking of what she learned then was alcohol, and something else that made her cringe. Those were the times when he wouldn't beat his daughter, something Josephine was grateful for. But when they weren't there, and it was only him and her... She just prayed she'd be able to get away. One day, though, she wasn't as lucky…

Josephine was seven, and she came home late from Tiffany's house where her and her friend had a playdate. Tiffany's mom had been nice and took her home in her car after dinner instead of her walking home, since it was late. When she walked into the house, she expected Nathanial to still be out with his "buddies" or whatever they were, but he wasn't. Some woman not at all dressed for the cool, fall weather and wearing heels higher than Josephine's boots stormed past the girl and slammed the door shut behind her. She heard her dad shout and come running after the woman, and Josephine tried to run out, but was caught by Nathanial.

"You let her go," he growled, dragging Josephine by her jacket while she struggled, "and we were almost there." He stopped pulling her and gave her a once over, narrowing his eyes. "You'll do for now."

Josephine didn't know what the clouded look in his eyes meant, nor his words, but she felt terrified when he started dragging her towards his room. "Stop!" she shouted, reaching up and trying to pry his hands from around her jacket.

Nathanial bared his yellow teeth and slapped her face harshly, causing her to cry out and hold her now red cheek. "Shut up, you little bitch." She reluctantly listened, not wanting to be hurt again. _Maybe if I don't struggle, he'll let me go…_

The man pulled his daughter into his room and shut the door. He roughly threw her onto the bed, and Josephine cowered by the pillows. It was dark in the room, since he hadn't turned on the lights, so she couldn't see anything. She heard rustling and immediately her fear grew. The bed shifted and Josephine saw the faint outline of her father over her. He pried her arms and legs from her chest, ignoring her continuous struggling, and pulled her so she was laying on the bed. Josephine felt her legs be pinned down by his and her arms forced to her sides. She heard her father's ragged breathing and smelt the alcohol on his breath, momentarily distracting her from what he was doing. Cool air met her hips. The fabric was gone. Before she could react, she screamed.

Pain.

So, so much pain.

More than he had even inflicted upon her.

Josephine didn't know how long it lasted. Her first scream didn't last long, quickly being muffled by a hand. Her struggles were in vain. All she could do was cry, and that's what she did. That's the only thing she _could_ do. The only thing she had control of, the only thing her mind could process, the only thing she knew how to do at that moment.

The pain was still there, even when he left. Her mind felt like it was filled with cotton. She felt like her body was moving through jello. Her throat was scorched. Her eyes were briny. The pain was immense as Josephine got up from the bed and fixed herself. She let out a silent sob and ran. Ran from the horrible man. Ran from the horrible place. Ran from the horrible memories.

The little girl didn't know where she was running to, but didn't care. She let her feet take her wherever they wanted to. She hated him. Hated that horrible man. She couldn't think of a strong enough word for it, but she hated him. He hurt her, more than she had ever imagined he would. She couldn't think of a single reason why he would've done that. Was it the woman? Did she make him do that to her? Did she tell him to hurt her? She hated that lady, too. She had caused it.

As the cotton went away, Josephine realized her feet were taking her to Tiffany and Riley's house. She was surprised by that, since they lived fairly far away in a better area of Detroit than her home. Her neighborhood wasn't very nice, but it was where her aunt Rachel had raised her, so she thought it must've been better than somewhere else. Her aunt always made sure to keep her safe.

Josephine made it to her friend's house after a while. Her legs hurt, her lungs hurt, her head hurt, and everything else seemed to hurt as well. She stumbled up the steps to the door and knocked, hoping they'd come soon before her legs gave out. A few moments later, Tiffany's mom came to the door. She looked concerned when she acknowledged the girl's disheveled appearance and tearful eyes.

"Josephine, are you ok?" she asked, standing to the side as the redhead walked in.

Josephine nodded, sniffling. "C-can I stay here?"

"But Josephine, I just took you home. Did you walk all the way here…?"

When she nodded, the mother sighed. "Alright, but… Let's clean you up a bit."

Tiffany's mom escorted Josephine up the stairs and into their large bathroom. Josephine knew Tiffany's mom was a nurse, since that's what Tiffany had told her. She had helped Josephine before with her injuries, and she helped her when she found out her aunt had died. Tiffany's mom was there when her aunt Rachel had died. She told Josephine her heart was attacked, but the little girl didn't know by what. Maybe it was by her father. Maybe he attacked her heart, and maybe that's what he was trying to do to Josephine. She hoped it hadn't worked.

Josephine thought Tiffany's mom was very nice, especially to her. She always had the best snacks, and had the coolest bandaids for Josephine and Tiffany to wear. She wished Tiffany's mom was her mom. She didn't know where her mom was, though. Maybe she was hiding from her dad so he wouldn't attack her heart. She didn't blame her.

Tiffany and Riley's mom wetted a washcloth and dabbed it on Josephine's reddened cheek. "How did you get hurt?" she asked softly.

The seven-year old wanted to tell her, but was worried her father would find out and try and hurt her friend's mom. "I fell," she told her.

"You fell?" she repeated in confusion. "Do you have any cuts?"

Josephine shook her head. "No, but my head hurts."

"Did you hit your head?"

She shook her head again. "No."

"Hmm… I'll just give you some medicine then." The woman got up from where she was crouched by Josephine and went over to a cabinet. She grabbed a bottle of something and took out two little, purple tablets. She walked back to Josephine and gave them to her. "Here, chew these up, ok?"

Josephine nodded and took the purple tablets, putting them into her mouth and chewing them up. They tasted like grape. "Thank you, um…"

"Yes?"

"What's your name?" she asked.

"You can call me Mrs. A."

The little girl nodded. "Thank you, Mrs. A."

"You're welcome, sweetie. Here, let me take you to a room for you to sleep in." Mrs. A led Josephine out of the bathroom and down the long hallway. Their house was large, especially compared to Josephine's house. Tiffany said it was because Mrs. A was a nurse and made a lot of money. Mr. A was a police officer, but he was a lot nicer than the police officers that would come to Josephine's neighborhood. They would yell and break into people's houses and wake the little girl up. She didn't like those police officers very much, but she liked Mr. A.

The room she was taken to was bigger than the one she and her aunt had shared. It was plain, though. The walls were tan, and the bed was big and tan, and the wood floor underneath it was brown. Josephine, for once, didn't mind it, though. She still hurt, and all she wanted to do was sleep now. Looking at the bed reminded her of what happened at her home earlier, but she tried to forget the memories. Josephine crawled onto the bed as Mrs. A pulled back the covers for her. She laid down and the woman placed the washcloth in her hand on the seven-year old's forehead.

"Do you need anything?" Mrs. A asked, walking over to the door.

"Um… Do you have a bunny?"

"A bunny? Like, a stuffed bunny?"

Josephine nodded. "I forgot mine."

"Oh. Let me go and see if Tiffany has one." She left the room, leaving Josephine alone for a moment. The room had a little nightlight in the corner that gave the space a soft, yellow glow and calmed Josephine's nerves a little. The covers were warm, and the washcloth on her head was warm, too. She almost fell asleep when Mrs. A returned with a little brown bunny in her hands.

"Is this ok?" she asked the toddler.

Josephine nodded, and Mrs. A gave her the bunny. "Goodnight, Josephine."

"Goodnight," she responded, watching as she gently shut the door.

Josephine looked at the brown bunny in her arms. It matched the color on the walls. It wasn't as nice as her purple one at home, but she thought it would be fine. Shifting a little to get more comfortable, Josephine hugged the bunny to her chest. The little tablets had started working, and the pain her father had inflicted had started to subside. Her eyelids grew heavy, and she let them fall shut, falling into a well-deserved, dreamless sleep.


End file.
